Server method and system for rendering content on a wireless device

ABSTRACT

A server implemented method for processing data for a wireless device. The server in response to a user request executes an application program for generating content for rendering on the wireless device where the content is wireless device generic. A first screen description based on the content and a device profile of the wireless device is generated. The device profile may describe a rendering capability of the wireless device. The first screen may be in a syntax generic format independent of the wireless device type and describe relative screen location and display object size information independent of screen dimensions. The first screen is translated into a second screen description that includes discrete low level rendering commands within the rendering capability of the wireless device that is syntax generic. Low level rendering commands include physical screen positions of display elements. The translated second screen is then transmitted to the wireless device.

RELATED U.S. PATENT APPLICATION

This Application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______filed on Aug. 1, 2007, by Carion et al., and entitled “A METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR RENDERING CONTENT ON A WIRELESS DEVICE” with the AttorneyDocket No. HOMI-P003 and assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of wirelesscommunication systems. More particularly, embodiments of the presentinvention relate to a method and system for rendering applications on awireless device.

BACKGROUND ART

The widespread and increase in popularity of wireless devices have ledto an increase in the number of wireless device types in the world. Forexample, the use of cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),PalmPilots, BlackBerrys, laptops, IPods, etc., have become prevalent inthe market. The increase in the number of wireless devices has alsoincreased the demand for various applications to run on various wirelessdevices.

The market is fractured among many manufacturers with different types ofwireless devices including brands, models, generations, etc. Forexample, each year new manufacturers enter the market and existingmanufacturers provide new models and new versions for existing wirelessdevices. Each wireless device is unique based on its brand, model,rendering capability, battery life, processing power, displayresolution, color capability, display size, etc., collectively known aswireless device attributes.

Unfortunately, since each wireless device is unique, each applicationmust be tailored in accordance with the wireless device attributes tofully utilize the capabilities of the wireless device. For example, toutilize the entire display of the wireless device, the application mustbe tailored to render the application in accordance with the displaysize and resolution of the wireless device.

Unfortunately, the increase in the number of applications, the types ofwireless devices and the need to tailor each application to a givenwireless device type has increased the cost of developing applications.With ever increasing number of models and brands of wireless devices,the number of applications and application versions required toaccommodate all of these different wireless devices has increased aswell. Since each application must be specific to a given wireless devicetype with a given brand and model, applications are substantiallydeveloped from the ground up for each wireless device type.Unfortunately, developing applications from the ground up for eachwireless device has increased the cost of developing and customizingeach application to accommodate each wireless device brand and model.

Moreover, the increase in cost of developing applications due to theneed to tailor each application to all the specific brands and models ofwireless devices has hindered and limited the number of titles that asoftware vendor can produce annually. Software developers simply do nothave the time or the resources to take even a single application througha customized quality assurance and debugging process, much less eachapplication for each type of wireless device, thereby limiting thenumber of titles that a software vendor can produce.

Also, the task of producing all the required versions of a title is notonly time consuming and laborious but it also tends to limit upgradesand patches to existing titles. In general, a wireless device runs theapplication locally and renders the result. Thus, updating applicationsrequires a patch/update to be specially developed for and provided toeach wireless device individually. For example, updating/patching anapplication may require the wireless device user to access theapplication provider's website via the wireless device and to navigatethrough multiple pages in order to determine whether an update is ready.When an update is ready, the user actively initiates the update process.As a result, many users may not update their applications due to thislaborious process.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, a need has arisen to enable software vendors to providegeneric applications regardless of the wireless device type, therebyrelieving software vendors from having to tailor their applications foreach given wireless device type. Moreover, a need has arisen to not onlyrelieve software vendors from tailoring their applications for a givenwireless device type but to provide an output that is device specificbased on the wireless device attributes where the output is generatedfrom a generic application. Furthermore, it is advantageous to updateand patch various applications without a need to access each wirelessdevice individually. It will become apparent to those skilled in the artafter reading the detailed description of the present invention that theembodiments of the present invention satisfy the above mentioned needs.

Embodiments of the present invention relieve software vendors fromtailoring their applications based on each wireless device type becausethe server tailors the output of a generic application based on thewireless device capability. Moreover, embodiments of the presentinvention execute the requested application on the server. Thusproviding software updates and patches for a generic application can bedone by patching/updating the generic application on the server, therebyeliminating the need to update/patch each application on each wirelessdevice.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a wireless deviceincludes an engine/reader. The engine/reader is operable to communicatewith a server and receive a series of low level basic commands thatlayout content, position, etc. for rendering application content on thewireless device. The engine/reader interprets commands of a genericsyntax that are device specific in their parameters.

The wireless device may also include a graphical user interfaceincluding a plurality of rendering blocks. A custom configuration may beused to customize the appearance of content generated by a requestedapplication rendered on the rendering blocks. In other words, a customconfiguration may be a set of low level instructions for preprogrammingthe plurality of rendering blocks to operate and look a certain way. Thegraphical user interface is operable for rendering basic commandsreceived from the engine/reader and for customizing the operation andappearance of the requested application based on the customconfiguration. The wireless device has software stored therein toimplement the embodiments of the present invention.

In one embodiment, generic applications are provided by software vendorsand are stored on a remote server. It is appreciated that theseapplications are not device specific. Once a wireless device incommunication with the server requests an application, a message is sentvia the engine/reader of the wireless device to the server. The messagemay include a request for a specific application as well as informationidentifying the wireless device type and its capability.

In response to the message from the wireless device, the server accessesthe requested application by accessing a library of applications. Thelibrary of applications contains generic applications that on one leveloperate regardless of the device type. The requested application isexecuted on the server. Moreover, the server may identify a customconfiguration to be used for the requested application and the devicetype. The custom configuration is the theme and determines certaingraphical appearances of the requested application. In other words, thecustom configuration provides the “look and feel” of the content of therequested application. The server may send a message to the wirelessdevice identifying the custom configuration to be used. If theidentified custom configuration is present on the wireless device it isused locally, otherwise the identified custom configuration isdownloaded from the server to the wireless device. The customconfiguration is specific to the display and audio capabilities of thewireless device and is also specific to the wireless device.

The server may determine the device capabilities (e.g., renderingcapability of the wireless device) based on the received identificationmessage and by accessing a library of device profiles. The library ofdevice profiles includes information about the specific wireless devicecapabilities.

During the execution of an application, the server determines whetherthe executed application produces dynamic or static pages. If dynamicdata is produced, a template engine of the server merges dynamic dataprovided by a business logic unit and template screens of the requestedapplication provided by executing the application on the server.Business logic facilitates dynamic information exchange between theapplication executing and the templates. Thus, the template engineprovides a high level template (e.g., extensible markup language (XML)format) that includes the merged screens of the requested applicationand dynamic data provided by the business logic. Accordingly, theresultant output is a high level generic template or page description.

Additionally, the template engine communicates with a device profile ofthe wireless device and may eliminate content of the requestedapplication that is not supported by the wireless device based on thecapabilities of the wireless device. For example, if the serverdetermines that the wireless device has no audio capability, the contentrelated to audio may be eliminated from the template. On the other hand,if a static page is produced, the template engine is bypassed and thestatic page is supplied to a layout solver directly.

The layout solver of the server then tailors the template based on thedevice profile and device capability. In one example, the layout solveralso tailors static data based on the device profile and devicecapability. The layout solver translates the template and/or static pageinto a series of basic commands based on the device profile and devicecapabilities. Basic commands are written in a device independent syntaxbut tailored based on the wireless device capability. Accordingly, thebasic commands are low level compilation operable to render objectsusing the plurality of rendering blocks of the wireless device. Forexample, basic commands may be used to layout page content of therequested application. Accordingly, the layout solver receives a generictemplate and/or static data of the requested application and translatesit to application specific commands based on the device's capability.Basic commands are then transmitted to the wireless device forrendering.

The engine/reader of the wireless device receives the basic commandsthat are tailored and are specific to the wireless device based ondevice's attributes and capabilities. The syntax of these commands isdevice generic. The graphical user interface of the wireless device usesthe received basic commands and the custom configuration to render thereceived page. Each command is typically associated with an operation tobe performed by a rendering block of the wireless device and carriesparameters, content, etc., for operation of that rendering block. Basiccommands are used to layout content, position and etc. of theapplication while the custom configuration is used to customize the“look and feel” of the requested application (e.g., background color).The engine/reader may receive messages and content from the serverwithout further interaction by the user or it may send/receive messagesin response to user interaction.

As a result, software vendors do not need to tailor their application toeach wireless device. In other words, software vendors can develop ageneric application because the output of the generic application istailored based on each wireless device type using the server. Moreover,since applications and basic commands for rendering applications areperformed and generated on the server, providing patches and updates canbe facilitated by updating the server, thereby eliminating the need toaccess each wireless device individually.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an exemplary communication system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention including wireless clients and aremote server.

FIG. 1B shows an exemplary wireless device protocol stack in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an exemplary communication sequence between awireless device and a remote server in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary wireless device block diagram in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary received compiled page description inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary remote server block diagram in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary computer controlled flow diagram for renderingcontent on a wireless device in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary computer controlled flow diagram of a serverimplemented method for processing data for a wireless device inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction withthese embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended tolimit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the inventionis intended to cover alternative, modifications and equivalents, whichmay be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detaileddescription of the present invention, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentinvention. However, it will be evident to one ordinary skill in the artthat the present invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarilyobscure aspects of the invention.

Notation and Nomenclature

Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented interms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits that can be performed oncomputer memory. These descriptions and representations are the meansused by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure,computer executed step, logic block, process, etc., is here, andgenerally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps orinstructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiringphysical manipulations of physical quantities.

Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofelectrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred,combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. Ithas proven convenient at times principally for reasons of common usage,to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols,characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from following discussions, itis appreciated that throughout the present invention, discussionsutilizing terms such as “processing” or “creating” or “transferring” or“executing” or “determining” or “instructing” or “issuing” or “halting”or “clearing” or “accessing” or “aggregating” or “obtaining” or“selecting” or “initiating” or “receiving” or “analyzing” or“generating” or “constructing” or “outputting” or “collecting” or“monitoring” or “outputting” or “storing” or “sending” or “receiving” or“identifying” or using” or “rendering” or “translating” or “providing”or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, orsimilar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transformsdata represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computersystem's registers and memories into other data similarly represented asphysical quantities within the computer system memories or registers orother such information storage, transmission or display devices.

A Server Method and System for Rendering Content on a Wireless Device

The increase in the number of wireless devices has led to an increase indemand for different applications. However, each given application needsto be tailored to a given wireless device type based on the wirelessdevice capability. Embodiments of the present invention relieve softwarevendors from tailoring their applications based on each wireless devicetype because the server tailors the output of a generic applicationbased on the wireless device capability. Moreover, embodiments of thepresent invention execute the requested application on the server. Thusproviding software updates and patches for a generic application can bedone by patching/updating the generic application on the server, therebyeliminating the need to update/patch each application on each wirelessdevice.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, an exemplary communication system 100A inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention includingwireless clients and a remote server is shown. In one embodiment, one ormore wireless devices 110 are coupled to a server 130 through a network120. The wireless device 110 may be any mobile wireless electronicdevice, e.g., a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), apager, a smart phone, a BlackBerry, a laptop and the like. It isappreciated that the wireless device described herein is exemplary andis not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Network 120includes wireless communication capability.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the remote serverexecutes a generic application. It is generic in that it is not specificto any device or any set of device capabilities. The server willeventually translate the output of the application to a device specificset of commands for transmission to the device 110 for rendering.Likewise, the device 110 sends user input and other data to the remoteserver 130 for processing.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a wireless deviceinitiates a message requesting access to a given generic applicationstored on the server 130. It is appreciated that the wireless device inthis embodiment has stored therein a software program or “client” thatenables the wireless device to implement the embodiments of the presentinvention. This client may be downloaded to the wireless device 110using well known conventional methods.

The server 130 in response to the received message may access therequested application that is generic regardless of the wireless devicetype. However, the server 130 generates a device specific result fromthe generic application, thereby tailoring the output of the genericapplication based on the wireless device type. The result in one exampleis a series of basic commands, precompiled and ready for audio and videorendering by the wireless device. During application execution, pagelayout information is sent to the wireless device for display and audiorendering using the basic commands. Also, user input and other stateinformation is sent from the wireless to the server in accordance withthe pages of the application. As a result, software vendors no longerneed to tailor their applications for each wireless device type becausea generic application can be used by the server to generate a tailoredresult application for each wireless device type.

Moreover, since the generic application is being executed by the server130 instead of the wireless device 110, the generic application may bepatched and updated on the server 130 without a need to access eachwireless device individually. Furthermore, since the application isgeneric, the update and patch software is likewise device generic,thereby limiting the number of versions needed.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, an exemplary wireless device protocol orsoftware stack 100B in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. In one embodiment, a wireless device may include ahardware component 102, a binary runtime for wireless device (BREW)and/or Java platform (J2ME) J2ME/BREW 104 for instance, an abstractionlayer 106, a graphical user interface 108, a configuration data 112 anda reader/engine 114. It is appreciated that in one embodiment, thegraphical user interface 108, abstraction layer 106, J2ME/BREW 104 andthe hardware layer 102 are device specific. In comparison, theengine/reader 114 and the configuration data 112 may be device genericin terms of the syntax they use to operate. Blocks 104 through 114 canbe downloaded to the device from the server and are called “the client.”

The hardware 102 may be the actual circuitry of the wireless device. Forexample, hardware 102 may be the processor, display components, userinputs, audio rendering devices, etc. BREW 104 is a software platformthat may be used to download and run small programs for playing games,sending messages, sharing photos and the like. The main advantage ofBREW platform is ease of portability of applications. J2ME 104 is acollection of JAVA application programming interfaces (APIs) for thedevelopment of software for resource constrained devices such as PDAs,cellular phones and other consumer appliances. Accordingly, BREW and/orJ2ME 104 and the like are software platforms that may be used to enabledownload, portability of application, running small programs for variousapplications such as games, sending messages, sharing photos and thelike. It is therefore appreciated that the use of J2ME/BREW 104 isexemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of thepresent invention.

The abstraction layer 106 may be a software component used to translatecommands and enable the wireless device to implement differentembodiments of the present invention. For example, the abstraction layer106 may be used to facilitate communication between the graphical userinterface 108 and the J2ME/BREW 104 layer in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

A graphical user interface layer 108 includes a number of individualrendering blocks 108 a that perform discrete rendering operations torender a received page description. The engine/reader 114 passescommands to these rendering blocks to perform the rendering of theapplication content. Also, the engine/reader 114 receives user inputfrom these blocks 108 a. While the rendering blocks operate in a waythat is device specific, they communicate using a device generic syntax.These rendering blocks may be preconfigured to operate and store data(e.g., images, audio data, etc.) in a specific manner. Thispre-configuration may set a “look and feel” for a particularapplication. Once preconfigured, the received page descriptions theninclude commands that utilize the functionality of the blocks 108 a.

The wireless device using the engine/reader 114 communicates with theserver 130 via a device generic syntax to read the basic commands of apage description. The engine/reader also communicates to the server. Forexample, the engine/reader 114 may send a message that includes arequest to access a generic application as well as the identification ofthe wireless device type. The engine/reader also communicates useractions and other state information to the server. In return, theengine/reader 114 may receive a compiled content from the server 130that includes a series of basic commands for rendering the requestedapplication. It is appreciated that the series of basic commands arewritten in a device independent syntax but tailored based on thewireless device rendering capability.

The engine/reader 114 may also receive updates from the requestedapplication based on changes of the server state. For example, if aprogram with a ticker (e.g., stock ticker) is originally selected, thenthe engine/reader 114 may receive an update for the ticker periodically.It is appreciated that the engine/reader 114 may receive additional datafrom the graphical user interface 108 in response to a user interaction(e.g., selecting an icon) and may transmit that data to the server as anevent.

The wireless device includes the configuration data 112 component. Asdiscussed above, the configuration data may be used to customize theappearance of the requested application and represents programming andstored content of the graphical user interface 108. In other words,configuration data may be a set of low level instructions forpreprogramming a plurality of rendering blocks 108 a of the graphicaluser interface to operate and render data (e.g., “look”) a certain way.For example, configuration data 112 may be used to customize a “submit”icon to look like an airplane flying away when pressed. The wirelessdevice may store multiple configuration data 112 and cache newconfiguration data as new applications are accessed. It is appreciatedthat the terms configuration data and custom configuration are usedinterchangeably throughout this application.

According to one embodiment, configuration data 112 may include textfonts, text colors, background colors, background images, borderthickness, border colors, frame colors of menus, style of menus (e.g.,rounded, rectangle and etc.), styles of check boxes (square, round andetc.), images of non-selected icons, images of selected icons, graphcolors, information for drawing (e.g., particular text font at aparticular location, particular color at a given location, shape of agiven size, image at a given point and etc.), icons to use forrepresenting hierarchical data, colors of the bar/animation representingthe progress when downloading and an animation to use when download isin progress and the like. It is appreciated that the configuration data112 discussed above are exemplary and are not intended to limit thescope of the present invention.

The configuration data is programmed into the rendering blocks 108 a.The graphical user interface 108 rendering blocks (e.g., icons) 108 arender content and enable a user to interact with the requestedapplication. For example a “submit” icon may be one of the renderingblocks of the graphical user interface (GUI) 108 that once selectedsubmits a form.

In one example, the rendering blocks 108 a may include an edit box forentering text, static text for displaying text, an image, a pop-up menuwhich may appear in response to a user interaction, a drop-down menulist, tabbed menu for displaying several pages where each tab maydisplay a text and an optional icon, sound for controlling audio (e.g.,pause, rewind, stop, play and the like), video to display a video withvisual control panel (e.g., pause, rewind, stop, play and the like),ticker to display horizontal scrolling text, check box/radio button toenable selection/de-selection of items, rating control for ratingcontent (e.g., movies), poll control for displaying the current pollresult, canvas for drawing objects, a tree for displaying hierarchicaldata, scroll bar for scrolling up/down and/or left/right, a progress barto display download progress, a table for displaying data in a tabularform, a calendar for displaying and enabling selection/de-selection of adate and the like. It is appreciated that the rendering blocks discussedabove are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention.

In more detail a more comprehensive list of configuration data alsoknown as “skinnable attributes” as well as the rendering blocks andtheir syntax is provided below. It is appreciated that some of theattributes have “x2” suffix for having two values. A first value isselected for default value and a second value is selected when a defaultvalue is not selected.

An edit box is a rendering block for entering text (e.g., a user name, aSSN, etc.). The text may appear in clear form, or as ‘*’ to hide thetext when the user uses this edit box to enter a password. Configurationdata may include:

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

background color (x2)

background image (x2)

A static text is a rendering block used to display text. Configurationdata may include:

font of the text

color of the text

background color

background image

An image is a rendering block to display an image. An action may beassociated to the image, e.g., in response to a user selecting theimage, a request may be sent to the server. Configuration data mayinclude:

thickness of the border of the image (x2)

color border of the image (x2)

A pop-up menu is a rendering block which appears on a given user action(e.g., by pressing the right softkey button). Configuration data mayinclude:

color of the frame of the menu

style of the menu (rounded, rectangle, etc.)

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

background color (x2)

background image (x2)

A list is a rendering block for displaying a list of items in a list. Anoptional icon may be associated to each item in the list. The user canscroll this list and select an item. Configuration data include:

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

background color (x2)

background image (x2)

thickness of the border for icons

color of the border for icons

A tabbed menu is a rendering block for a wireless device to displayseveral pages due to a small screen size. Each tab may display a textand an optional icon. Configuration data may include:

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

background color (x2)

background image (x2)

thickness of the border for icons (x2)

color of the border for icons (x2)

Sound is a rendering block for a non visual control to play sound. Thisrendering block may optionally include a visual control panel forallowing the user to pause/rewind/stop the sound. The control mayinclude the identification of the sound file to play.

Video is a rendering block to display a video clip. A visual controlpanel associated with the video may be displayed to allow the user topause/rewind/stop the video. The control may include the URL that thewireless device should use to stream the video clip.

Ticker is a rendering block to display a horizontally scrolling text.Configuration data may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

font of the text

color of the text

background color

background image

Check box/radio button is a rendering block allowing the user toselect/deselect an option in a screen. Configuration data may include:

check box style: square, round, etc.

color of the border

font of the text

color of the text

background color

Rating control is a rendering block that allows the user to rate content(e.g., image, video, etc.). This control may display five icons (e.g.,stars, thumps up, etc.) and allow the user to select of one the icons.Configuration data may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

image for non selected icon

image for selected icon

Poll control is a rendering block for displaying a list of selectablepropositions to the user. In response to a selection, the server maysend the result to the client as a bar graph to show the current resultof the poll. Configuration data may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

background color

background image

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

colors of the graph bars

Canvas is a rendering block on the screen on which the server can drawelements. The server may send drawing instruction in this canvas such asdraw this text with this font at this X/Y position, draw this line withthis color between x1/y1 and x2/y2, draw this rectangle atx/y/width/height, draw this image at x/y, etc. It is appreciated thatthere is no equivalence to the canvas rendering block in a wap browser.

Tree is a rendering block for displaying hierarchical data.Configuration data may include:

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

icons to use for the nodes of the tree

Scroll bar is a rendering block that indicates that a page can bescrolled up and down or left and right.

Progress bar is a rendering block to provide the user with feedbackabout the advancement of the process in downloading content. This is auseful feature for lengthy downloads since “loading animation” does notalways provide sufficient information as to the advancement of thecontent download. For example, a process bar may indicate a percentageof advancement. Configuration data may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

background color

background image

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

colors of the bar which indicated the progress

Table is a rendering block that may be used to display data inrows/columns. Configuration data may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

background color

background image

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

Calendar is a rendering block for allowing the user to pick a dateand/or time without the risk of entering invalid data. Configurationdata may include:

thickness of the border

color of the border

background color

background image

font of the text (x2)

color of the text (x2)

The GUI 108 uses the configuration data 112 to preprogram the pluralityof rendering blocks 108 a to operate and look a certain way. Forexample, the rendering block (e.g., scroll bar) may be customized by theGUI 108 based on the configuration data (e.g., an image of a shamrockleaf during St. Patrick's day) to customize the way the rendering blocklooks. Accordingly, the GUI 108 may receive compiled content for therequested application that includes a series of basic commands from theengine/reader 114 for rendering a page of the requested application. Itis appreciated that the series of basic commands are written in a deviceindependent syntax whose parameters are tailored based on the wirelessdevice capability. The GUI 108 may then render the page of theapplication based on the received basic commands and the customizedpreprogrammed plurality of rendering blocks. As a result, the appearanceof the received the page of the application and the plurality ofrendering blocks are customized based on the configuration data.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an exemplary communication sequence200A and 200B between a wireless device 210 and a remote server 230 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown. Atstep 212 the client 210 sends a message to the server 230 identifyingthe wireless device type and its capabilities along with a request toaccess an application on the server. It is appreciated that theapplication is generic and independent of the wireless device type. Therequest from the client may also be a request to gain access to aspecific resource (e.g., an image, sound, etc.). The response from theserver may include the requested resource that may further include theversion number which may be cached by the client.

In one embodiment, the wireless device type and its capabilities mayinclude the brand, the model and the version number and may include somedevice capability information such as the screen size, the amount ofmemory, permanent storage capabilities, the color resolution, the imageformat, the list of java specification request (JSR) such as video,global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, access to address book,capability to initiate a call, short messaging system (SMS), multimediamessaging service (MMS) and the like. It is appreciated that the list ofwireless device type provided herein is exemplary and should not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the message from the client 210 may identify theversion number of the “client.” If the version number is too old or ifthe user requests a feature that is not available for the currentversion of the “client”, the server may send an update “client” messageto the user to notify the user of the user that a new version of the“client” is required. Moreover, the server may provide instructions onhow to update the “client.” The URL may be sent to the client 210 suchthat the browser could be launched by the user. Accordingly, the usercan download the new version of the “client” without having to navigatethrough multiple web pages.

The message 212 may include:

request for a desired “application”

the version number of the client

the screen size

the amount of memory on the wireless device

the client's storage capabilities (size of the available permanentstorage)

the number of colors supported by the client

the supported image format

the list of supported JSR. A JSR may be an optional API, not required bythe J2ME specification, that the client may support. JSR may includevideo, GPS capabilities, access to the address book, capability toinitiate a phone call/send a SMS/send a MMS from the application, etc.

In response to the message 212, the server 230 identifies the requestedapplication and its corresponding custom configuration to be used by theclient 210. At step 214, the server 230 sends a message to the client210 identifying the corresponding custom configuration.

In one embodiment, the message identifying the custom configuration mayindicate a version of the custom configuration selected for use with therequested application. The message communicated at step 214 may include:

the configuration data commonly known as skin version number for therequested application

the version number of the loading animation

the page identification and version number of the first page to display

The client may cache data in its permanent memory. As a result, theclient may request for the resources it needs by checking the status ofits cache. For example, if a given resource for the requestedapplication is not available in its cache or is stored with a differentversion number, then the client may request the identified resource fromthe server. Therefore, in response to receiving the message identifyingthe custom configuration, the client 210 determines whether the customconfiguration has been previously stored in its cache. If the client 210determines that the custom configuration is already present, the client210 may further determine whether the stored information is the latestversion. According to one embodiment, if the client 210 is unable tolocate the identified custom configuration or its latest version, thenit may send a request 216 to download the identified information (e.g.,custom configuration) from the server 230.

It is appreciated that the request 216 is not necessarily limited to thecustom configuration and may be extended to any information. Forexample, the request from the client 210 may include a request for animage, an audio sound, a loading animation that is displayed on thewireless device during download showing the download progress (e.g.,download 57% complete) and the like. Other requests may include arequest for a loading animation or a request to download a first page ofthe application.

It is appreciated that the server 230 in response to a request from theclient 210 may send the requested content to the client 210. Forexample, the server 230 may send a custom configuration description, anapplication, a loading animation description that may be a static text,a static image, an animated image and the like. For static text, thecontent of the text may be provided, for a static image theidentification of the image and its version number may be provided andfor an animated image the identification of the image, the number offrames and the delay between frames may be provided. It is appreciatedthat the server in response to the request from the client sends theversion number of the requested resource, which may be cached by theclient.

It is appreciated that any image regardless of the context (e.g.,configuration data, loading animation, etc.) may be identified by itsidentification number and its corresponding version number. In oneembodiment, the client may store as many images as it can in a LRU(least recently used) cache to avoid wasting bandwidth in asking forimages. Each time an image is sent from the server, the version numbermay be changed to clear the image in client's cache and ask the serverfor a new one.

It is further appreciated that similar caching mechanism may be used forother resources such as configuration data, the pages and the soundfiles. In one embodiment, the client may implement the optimal cachingstrategy (e.g., for low-end handsets, the cache will be very limited andthe client will try to cache in order of priority such as theconfiguration data, the loading animation, images, etc.). It is alsoappreciated that a server may send a message to the client requestingthe client to change or adopt a new caching strategy.

In this example, at step 218, the server 230 in response to the requestfrom the client 210 sends the custom configuration to the client 210.The client 210 in one embodiment, caches the downloaded customconfiguration such that it can be retrieved at a later time. The customconfiguration may include a list of default values including defaultfont, default color, default border color, default border thickness,default background color, default image, default menu style, defaultimage for selected/non-selected icons and the like. The customconfiguration may also include a list of optional values such as defaultfont for edit zone, default font for ticker, default background colorfor static text (e.g., article) and the like where each optional valuemay be identified by an identification number. It is appreciated thatthe list provided herein regarding the custom configuration is exemplaryand is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

At step 219, the device requests the first page of the application. Atstep 220, the server 230 sends the requested application content (e.g.,the first page of the requested application). According to oneembodiment, the requested application content is received as compiledcontent that includes a series of basic commands representing a pagedescription. Basic commands are precompiled by the server 230 and readyfor rendering by the client 210. It is appreciated that basic commandsare written in a syntax that is device generic regardless of the devicetype but whose parameters are tailored based on the wireless devicecapabilities. As such, precompiled basic commands are discrete low levelrendering commands tailored based on the rendering capability of theclient 210.

In one example, a page description contains basic commands that mayinclude a description of the scrolling area (e.g., starting and endingvertical positions), the horizontal and vertical coordinates, the width,the height, the type of component to be displayed (e.g., text, image,video, audio and the like), the unique identification of the renderingblock to be used to render the component, related parameters for therendering block and for display components (e.g., version number of theimage) and the like. As a result, the client 210 may draw the screenaccording to the description as specified by the received discrete lowlevel basic commands and in accordance with the identified customconfiguration.

The client 210 according to one embodiment caches the downloadedcompiled content such that it can be retrieved at a later time. Forexample, when a client is surfing the Internet, it may cache thedisplayed page such that the client can browse back without having todownload the page again.

According to one embodiment, when content is received by the client 210from the server 230, the older version of the content may be clearedfrom the cached memory in order to save space. For example, when a newversion of a custom configuration is downloaded the older version may becleared to free up memory space and the new one may be cached instead.In some embodiments, the client 210 may prioritize caching to achieve anoptimal caching strategy, particularly for memory constraint wirelessdevices. According to one embodiment, the caching strategy of the client210 may be modified by the server 230. It is appreciated that whenenough memory space is available, the client 210 may store as muchcontent as possible (e.g., custom configuration, animation download andthe like) to avoid wasting bandwidth by repeatedly having to downloadthem at a later time.

It is appreciated that steps 218 and 220 are shown as separatedownloads, however, separate downloads for application content and thedetermined custom configuration are exemplary and should not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the present invention. Accordingly,the custom configuration and application content may be downloadedsimultaneously. Moreover, it is appreciated that additional information(e.g., loading animation) may be downloaded separately or simultaneouslywith custom configuration and/or application. It is appreciated that theclient 210 at step 222 may optionally send an acknowledgement message tothe server 230 indicating successful receipt of the requestedinformation.

At step 224, update (e.g., a new page) for the application may be pushedby the server 230 to the client 210 without user interaction. Pushedcontents may be referred to as asynchronous messages that are sent bythe server without user interaction that are triggered by a specific onthe server side. For example, if the requested application has a tickerfor displaying scrolling text (e.g., stock update) then as soon as anupdate is available the new text may be pushed to the client 210 toupdate the ticker. These asynchronous messages are not possible for wapapplication in a browser because using wap browser the only possiblesolution is to cyclically poll the server to determine whether newmaterial is ready. As a result, wap wastes bandwidth and is not suitablefor real-time notification such as SMS messaging.

In one example, at step 226 of FIG. 2B, the client 210 may initiate anaction/command. An action may include a command that controls an editbox, controlling buttons, selection/de-selection of a check box orcontrolling a menu that when activated triggers an action, etc. Anaction may be described by page identification and some parameters toreflect the action of the user (e.g., the identification of thetriggering control, the content of the edit zones, the selected item,etc.). For example, the client 210 may be in the process of filling outa form and the initiated command may be selecting the “submit” button tosubmit the completed form. As a result of the user interaction, at step228 the server may send a new page to the client 210. For example, thenew page may be a confirmation number and an indication that thesubmitted form was properly received.

It is appreciated that user interaction 232 may result in new page to bedisplayed at step 234. It is also appreciated that at step 236, a newpage (e.g., asynchronous message) may be sent from the server 230without an action by the client 210. For example, the client 210 may bereading news on the Internet using the wireless device. When breakingnews occurs, the update may be pushed to the client 210, updating thepage. In another example, the client 210 may be involved in SMSmessaging and once a new message is ready, the message may be pushed asa new page by the server 230. For example, pushing a message from theserver 230 to the client 210 may include an error message that somethinghas happened on the server (e.g., server will be in maintenance and theuser should disconnect and check back in a few minutes).

In one embodiment, the server 230 may push a message to the client 210to clear pages history. During the user navigation, the client may keepthe path history of the user such that the user can press the “back” keyto go to the previous screen without requesting for the page to bedownloaded again. Storing the path history is convenient because itallows a smooth user experience but it may require a large amount ofmemory on a wireless device. Accordingly, the server message may be usedto notify that some pages in history can be safely cleaned up. In oneexample, this mechanism may be activated during a quality assurance when“out of memory” issues are detected and a message to clear pages historyto ensure that memory is always available.

Similarly, a message from the server 230 to the client 210 to clearcache may be used to cleanup some resources in the cache in order tofree up space in the memory. Moreover, a message may be sent from theserver 230 to the client 210 to obtain client's status information thatmay be used for debugging purpose and the like. Obtaining client'sstatus may be used to collect dynamic information about the wirelessdevice at any given time to detect potential problems. As a result ofreceiving the status information, the client 210 may send a messageproviding status information for its cache, the history of pages, theamount of available memory, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary wireless device block diagram 300in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown. Thewireless device 300 may implement the process for facilitatingcommunication between the wireless device and the server as shown inFIGS. 1A-2B and includes a bus 302 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 360 coupled with bus 302 forprocessing information.

Wireless device 300 also includes a volatile memory 310, such as arandom access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled tobus 302 for storing information and instructions to be executed byprocessor 360. Volatile memory 310 also may be used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during executionof instructions to be executed by processor 360.

Wireless device 300 further includes a non-volatile memory 320 such asread only memory (ROM) or other static storage device coupled to bus 302for storing static information and instructions for processor 360. Anon-volatile storage device 320, such as a magnetic disk or flashmemory, is provided and coupled to bus 302 for storing information andinstructions and may store the persistent internal queue. According toone embodiment, the instructions for implementing the virtual device maybe stored on any one of the memory components (e.g., RAM, ROM,non-volatile storage device and etc.). Wireless device 300 may becoupled via bus 302 to a display 350, such as liquid crystal display(LCD), for displaying information on the wireless device.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 360 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks orthe like. Volatile media includes dynamic memory and the like.

The wireless device 300 further includes a transceiver 330 forfacilitating wireless communication with a remote server. Thetransceiver 330 may receive a series of basic commands from a remoteserver that may be used to render application and/or content on thedisplay 350.

In one embodiment, the wireless device 300 further includes buttoninputs 340 e.g., a keyboard, for facilitating user interaction. Forexample, button inputs 340 may be used to navigate a website, enteremail addresses, enter telephone numbers and the like. It is appreciatedthat button inputs 340 may be soft key buttons, a plurality ofmechanical buttons, a rotating input component, a sliding inputcomponent, a voice activation component and the like.

The wireless device 300 may further include a microphone 380 forfacilitating voice and audio input. The wireless device 300 may alsoinclude a speaker 370 for outputting audio. For example, the speaker 370may be used to output a sound file such as mp3 or output voice outputs.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary received compiled page description400 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown.The compiled page description includes a series of basic commands. Eachbasic command may describe a given component on the page of therequested application to be rendered and includes a rendering block tobe used. For example, a basic command 410 may be a description forrendering an image whereas a basic command 430 may be the descriptionfor rendering a video clip. Accordingly, a collection of basic commands410, 430 and 490 forms a single unified page to be rendered by thewireless device.

Basic commands are received from a remote server. The plurality of basiccommands may be used by the wireless device to render applicationcontent (e.g., pages of the requested application) on the wirelessdevice. For example, basic command 410 may include descriptions forrendering an image by specifying the Cartesian coordinates 412 and 414of a screen region. Moreover, basic command 410 may further include thewidth 416 and the height 418 of the screen region to include image.

It is appreciated that the Cartesian coordinates 412 and 414 fields andthe width 416 and height 418 fields may be the absolute coordinates andsize of the renderable component on a given page of a requestedapplication. However, it is appreciated that these fields may alsoinclude relative size and location of a given component for a given pageof the application to be rendered.

In one embodiment, the object or renderable component may be identifiedby an object identifier 420 field. For example, the renderable objectmay be identified as an image. The image in one example may include anidentification number 422 to identify the unique image that reflects themost recent image. The command also identifies the render block that isused to render the object.

It is appreciated that the basic command 410 may further include anidentification of a rendering block 424. As a result, the renderingblock 424 for providing user interaction may be identified. It isappreciated that basic commands may further include other fieldcomponents for additional information e.g., immediate data, such astext. Thus it is appreciated that the fields described herein areexemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an exemplary remote server block diagram 500 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown. Aclient 510 is in communication with a remote server 590. As discussedabove, the client 510 may initially send a message to the remote server590 to request an application as well as identify the client's 510 typeand its capabilities. A decoding system 520 of the server 590 receivesthe message from the client 510.

The decoding system 520 in response to the received message may access alibrary of applications 530 in order to locate and execute the requestedapplication (e.g., Texas Holdem Poker, Internet and the like). It isappreciated that applications stored in the library of applications 530are generic regardless of the device type. The requested application isthen executed on the server 590. An application is defined by anapplication description file and a set of static resources, e.g.,images, sounds, URLs, etc. The application description file describesall the screens of the application and the custom configuration of theapplication.

The decoding system 520 may also access a library of customconfiguration data 540, where each application may have a correspondingcustom configuration data to customize the appearance of theapplication. In response to the received message and after identifyingthe proper custom configuration, the decoding system 520 sends a messageto the client 510 identifying the custom configuration data. In oneembodiment, if the client 510 does not have the identified customconfiguration, it may request it and the decoding system 520 may sendthe identified custom configuration to the client 510.

During application execution, pages are generated for display on thewireless device. During a page generation, the server determines whetherthe requested application generates static or dynamic data. For staticapplications such as viewing pictures or for pure text, the decodingsystem 520 may send a static page to a layout solver 580 describedbelow. On the other hand for dynamic pages such as real-time data, theserver 590 inserts the dynamic data into a generic template and altersthe resultant template based on the client profile.

More specifically, for dynamic data, the decoding system 520communicates a page of the application to a template engine 550. Thepage is generic template describing the screen in a high level language,e.g., XML. The template engine 550 generates a dynamic page template bymerging dynamic data with the generic template. The template engine 550may be coupled to business logic 570 that computes dynamic dataaccording to application execution. The business logic 570 may usemodel-view-controller architecture such that the user interface does notaffect data handling and such that the data can be re-organized withoutchanging the user interface. The request through the user interface ofthe wireless device results in an action in the business logic unit 570.

The business logic 570 may supply dynamic data to the template engine550 for incorporation into a generic template. The template engine 550according to one embodiment merges dynamic data provided by businesslogic 570 and generates screens of the requested application executed bythe server to form a generic template. Thus, the template engine 550provides a high level template (e.g., extensible markup language (XML)format) that includes the merged screens of application and dynamic dataprovided by the business logic 570.

According to one embodiment, the template engine 550 is also coupled toa library of device profiles 560. The library of device profiles 560 mayinclude information on device capabilities. For example, the library ofdevice profiles 560 may include information on the screen size, screenresolution, color resolution and the like. The server determines theclient's 510 capabilities by accessing the library of device profiles560 and based on the received message from the client 510 identifyingitself (e.g., brand, model, memory size and the like).

As a result, the template engine 550 may eliminate content from itsdynamic template output that is not supported by the client 510. Forexample, if the application includes an audio component but the client510 does not have audio capability, then the template engine 550 mayeliminate audio component from the generic template output. In anotherexample, when the client 510 is short in memory, the template engine 550may eliminate big images. Thus, a dynamic and high level template thatincludes data supported by the client 510 is generated. The dynamictemplate output from the template engine 550 may be in a high levellanguage, e.g., XML.

The generic template supplied from 530 and the dynamic template suppliedfrom 550 do not contain any specific or actual screen dimensions butrather only contain relative screen locations. At this stage, thetemplates are not very device specific regarding screen sizes,dimensions, etc.

The template engine 550 sends the high level and dynamic template to thelayout solver 580. The layout solver 580 may also receive static pagedescriptions from the decoding system 520. In response to receiving thehigh level and dynamic template and/or static pages, the layout solver580 translates the received information into a series of basic commandsbased on the client's capabilities.

The layout solver 580 may access the library of device profiles 560 todetermine client's capabilities. The layout solver 580 may use theclient's capabilities to tailor the received information (e.g., staticapplication and/or dynamic application) based on the requesting client's510 capability.

It is appreciated that basic commands may be low level compilationoperable to render application content on the client 510 using therendering blocks of the wireless device. For example, basic commands maylayout page content for the requested application. Accordingly, thelayout solver 580 receives a dynamic template from the template engine550 and/or receives a static page from the decoding system 520 andtranslates it to device specific commands based on the client'scapability.

It is appreciated that the specific commands based on the client'scapability are written in a syntax that is device generic regardless ofthe wireless device type. However, the parameters of the basic commandsare tailored based on the wireless device capabilities. The basiccommands are then transmitted to the client 510 for rendering. In oneembodiment, the basic commands are the compiled page description 400 asdescribed in FIG. 4.

In one embodiment, the client 510 may initiate a further action bymaking a selection (e.g., selecting a selectable icon, sending SMSmessage and the like). The server 590 may receive the initiation of acommand from the client 510 and cause an application (e.g., a newapplication or the requested application) to execute accordingly orprovide an update. In one embodiment, the server 590 may automaticallyprovide an update and push content to the client 510 without userinvolvement (e.g., when SMS message is ready for the client 510, when astock update is ready in a ticker and the like).

Different blocks have been described as separate units. However, it isappreciated that each functional unit described herein may be integratedas a single working unit. As such, depiction of functional units asseparate units is exemplary and should not be construed as limiting thescope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an exemplary computer controlled flow diagram600 for rendering content on a wireless device in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention is shown. At step 610, the wirelessdevice may send a message to a remote server requesting an applicationas well as identifying itself and its capability (e.g., screen size,screen resolution and the like). At step 620, the wireless devicereceives a message from the server identifying a custom configuration tobe used to pre-configure a plurality of rendering blocks of the wirelessdevice. The custom configuration customizes the look and feel of thecontent displayed on the wireless device from execution of the requestedapplication.

According to one embodiment, the wireless device may store multiplecustom configurations. As a result, when the custom configuration to beused is identified by the server, the wireless device may determinewhether the custom configuration is present on the wireless device. Ifthe custom configuration is not present, the wireless device at step 630requests a download of the custom configuration from the server.According to one embodiment, the downloaded custom configuration may becached by the wireless device for later use to conserve bandwidth. It isappreciated that steps 610-630 are for setup purposes and may not benecessary upon subsequent action by the user or the server when anapplication is being executed.

At step 640, the wireless device receives compiled content generated inpart from execution of the requested application by the server. It isappreciated that the compiled content may include basic commands thatare expressed in a syntax that is generic to the wireless device butwhere the parameters of the basic commands are based on the wirelessdevice capability.

At step 650, the wireless device uses a graphical user interface togenerate renderable content based on the received compiled content andthe custom configuration. In one embodiment, content is rendered byprocessing the compiled content using the reader and by issuing commandsfrom the reader to rendering blocks of the graphical user interfacebased on the rendering commands of the compiled content. Accordingly, atstep 660, the content is rendered by the wireless device.

It is appreciated that in response to rendering content, a user of thewireless device may initiate an action (e.g., by selecting an icon) thatmay further cause a message to be sent to the server. The server inresponse to a user interaction may compile additional content and sendthe additional compiled content to the wireless device. It isappreciated that since the setup for the requested application has beencompleted, steps 610-630 may be eliminated during user interaction withthe rendered application. It is further appreciated that the server mayautomatically and without initiation of an action by the user pushadditional e.g., updated compiled content to the wireless device. Forexample, in an SMS application, a message may be ready for the wirelessdevice. The server may send the message to the wireless device withoutinitiation by the user.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an exemplary computer controlled flow diagram700 of a server implemented method for processing data for a wirelessdevice in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention isshown. At step 710, the server may receive a message from a clientrequesting execution of an application and identifying the client andthe client's capability. In response to receiving the message, at step720 the server may locate the requested application as well as thecorresponding custom configuration for the requested application byaccessing a library of applications and a library of configuration datarespectively. It is appreciated that applications in the library ofapplications are device generic.

At step 730, the server may send a message to the client identifying thecorresponding custom configuration to use for the requested application.If the client requests a download of the custom configuration, at step740 the server may send the custom configuration to the client. At thisstage, the setup for executing an application is complete.

At step 750, the server may execute the requested application. Theserver may then determine whether the executed application producesdynamic or static content. If the content produced is dynamic, at step760 the server uses a template engine to generate a generic templatethat contains dynamic data. In one embodiment, the template generatedmay be in compliance with extensible markup language (XML) and the like.

According to one embodiment, the template engine eliminates contentproduced that are not supported by the wireless device. For example, thetemplate engine may use a library of device profiles and the identifieddevice capability from the wireless device to determine the capabilityof the wireless device. As a result, content that is not supported bythe wireless device may be eliminated.

At step 770, the layout solver receives either static data or dynamicdata. In either case, the layout solver uses the device profile totailor and translate or compile the received data into commands of ageneric syntax whose parameters are tailored based on the capability ofthe wireless device. For example, the layout solver may determine thecontent layout on a given page of the requested application by providingthe coordinates, size, object identifier, object identification and thelike. The generated basic commands are discrete low level commandsoperable to render content on the wireless device. Thus, basic commandsare generated in a syntax that is generic to the wireless device but areapplication specific based on the wireless device capability.

At step 780, the discrete low level basic commands may be transmitted tothe client for rendering. It is appreciated that in response to a userinteraction received, the server may produce and compile additionalcontent. According to one example, the server may produce additionalcontent without involvement by the wireless device user (e.g., when amessage in SMS messaging is ready for the wireless device). It isappreciated that since the setup for the requested application and itscorresponding custom configuration is complete, execution of additionalcontent may be performed without execution of steps 710-740.

Accordingly, applications can be developed in a generic mannerregardless of the device type. Developing generic applicationsregardless of the wireless device type is in part possible because theserver may be used to operate on a generic application and tailor theresult of executing a generic application based on a wireless devicecapability. As a result, software vendors are relieved from tailoringtheir application to each wireless device. In other words, softwarevendors can develop a generic application because the output of thegeneric application can be tailored based on each wireless device typeby the server. Moreover, since applications and basic commands forrendering applications are performed on the server, providing patchesand updates can be facilitated by updating the server, therebyeliminating the need to access each wireless device individually.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with reference to numerous specific details that may vary fromimplementation to implementation. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicatorof what is, and is intended by the applicants to be, the invention isthe set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific formin which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. Hence,no limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute thatis not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of such claimin any way. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. A server implemented method for processing data for a wirelessdevice, said method comprising: executing an application program whichgenerates content operable to be rendered on said wireless device andwherein said content is wireless device generic; generating a firstscreen description based on said content and based on a device profileof said wireless device wherein said device profile describes arendering capability of said wireless device; translating said firstscreen description into a second screen description comprising discretelow level rendering commands that are within said rendering capabilityof said wireless device but that are of a syntax that is wireless devicegeneric; and providing said second screen description for transmissionto said wireless device.
 2. A method as described in claim 1 whereinsaid first screen description is of a syntax that is wireless devicegeneric and wherein further said first screen description is within therendering capability of said wireless device.
 3. A method as describedin claim 2 wherein said first screen description contains relativescreen location and display object size information and is independentof screen dimensions.
 4. A method as described in claim 1 wherein saidfirst screen description is substantially compliant with extensiblemarkup language (XML) syntax.
 5. A method as described in claim 1wherein said low level rendering commands of said second screendescription are operable to be executed by a plurality of renderingblocks of a graphical user interface of said wireless device.
 6. Amethod as described in claim 5 wherein said low level rendering commandscomprise physical screen positions of display elements.
 7. A method asdescribed in claim 5 wherein a low level rendering command comprises:specifications of a location and a size of a screen area; and anidentification of a particular rendering block of said plurality ofrendering blocks of said graphical user interface to operate within saidscreen area.
 8. A method as described in claim 7 wherein said low levelrendering command further comprises parameters associated with saidparticular rendering block.
 9. A method as described in claim 1 furthercomprising transmitting said second screen description to said wirelessdevice.
 10. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said second screendescription comprises display and audio rendering commands.
 11. A methodas described in claim 1 wherein said application program is wirelessdevice generic and wherein further said content generated by saidapplication comprises a screen description template that is wirelessdevice generic.
 12. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising,in response to a request for executing said application program, causingto be transmitted a custom configuration to said wireless device whereinsaid custom configuration is specific for said application program andis operable to configure a plurality of rendering blocks of a graphicaluser interface of said wireless device.
 13. A method as described inclaim 1 wherein said server comprises a plurality of device profiles andfurther comprising: receiving an identification of a type of saidwireless device; and identifying said device profile based on said typeof said wireless device.
 14. A server system comprising a processorcoupled to a bus and a memory coupled to said bus wherein said memorycomprises instructions that when executed cause said processor toimplement a method for processing data for a wireless device, saidmethod comprising: executing an application program which generatescontent operable to be rendered on said wireless device and wherein saidcontent is wireless device generic; generating a first screendescription based on said content and based on a device profile of saidwireless device wherein said device profile describes a renderingcapability of said wireless device; translating said first screendescription into a second screen description comprising discrete lowlevel rendering commands that are within said rendering capability ofsaid wireless device but that are of a syntax that is wireless devicegeneric; and providing said second screen description for transmissionto said wireless device.
 15. A server system as described in claim 14wherein said first screen description is of a syntax that is wirelessdevice generic and wherein further said first screen description iswithin the rendering capability of said wireless device.
 16. A serversystem as described in claim 15 wherein said first screen descriptioncontains relative screen location and display object size informationand is independent of screen dimensions.
 17. A server system asdescribed in claim 14 wherein said first screen description issubstantially compliant with extensible markup language (XML) syntax.18. A server system as described in claim 14 wherein said low levelrendering commands of said second screen description are operable to beexecuted by a plurality of rendering blocks of a graphical userinterface of said wireless device.
 19. A server system as described inclaim 18 wherein said low level rendering commands comprise physicalscreen positions of display elements.
 20. A server system as describedin claim 18 wherein a low level rendering command comprises:specifications of a location and a size of a screen area; and anidentification of a particular rendering block of said plurality ofrendering blocks of said graphical user interface.
 21. A server systemas described in claim 20 wherein said low level rendering commandfurther comprises parameters associated with said particular renderingblock.
 22. A server system as described in claim 14 wherein said methodfurther comprises transmitting said second screen description to saidwireless device.
 23. A server system as described in claim 14 whereinsaid second screen description comprises display and audio renderingcommands.
 24. A server system as described in claim 14 wherein saidapplication program is wireless device generic and wherein further saidcontent generated by said application comprises a screen descriptiontemplate that is wireless device generic.
 25. A server system asdescribed in claim 14 wherein said method further comprises, in responseto a request for executing said application program, causing to betransmitted a custom configuration to said wireless device wherein saidcustom configuration is specific for said application program and isoperable to configure a plurality of rendering blocks of a graphicaluser interface of said wireless device.
 26. A server system as describedin claim 14 wherein said memory comprises a plurality of device profilesand wherein said method further comprises: receiving an identificationof a type of said wireless device; and identifying said device profilebased on said type of said wireless device.
 27. A server system asdescribed in claim 14 wherein said memory comprises a plurality ofcustom configurations and wherein said method further comprises:receiving an identification of a type of said wireless device; receivingan identification of said application program from said wireless device;and identifying said custom configuration of said plurality of customconfigurations based on said type of said wireless device and based onsaid identification of said application program.
 28. A server systemcomprising: a memory coupled to said bus; a transceiver coupled to saidbus operable to communicate with said wireless device; and a processorcoupled to a bus and operable to execute an application program whichgenerates content for rendering on a wireless device and wherein saidcontent is wireless device generic and wherein further said processor isoperable to implement: a device profile library operable to store adevice profile describing the rendering capability of said wirelessdevice; a screen layout generator operable to generate a first screendescription based on said content and based on said device profile ofsaid wireless device; and a screen layout translator operable totranslate said first screen description into a second screen descriptioncomprising discrete low level rendering commands that are within saidrendering capability of said wireless device but that are of a syntaxthat is wireless device generic.
 29. A server system as described inclaim 28 wherein said first screen description is of a syntax that iswireless device generic and wherein further said first screendescription is within the rendering capability of said wireless device.30. A server system as described in claim 29 wherein said first screendescription contains relative screen location and display object sizeinformation and is independent of screen dimensions.
 31. A server systemas described in claim 28 wherein said first screen description issubstantially compliant with extensible markup language (XML) syntax.32. A server system as described in claim 28 wherein said low levelrendering commands of said second screen description are operable to beexecuted by a plurality of rendering blocks of a graphical userinterface of said wireless device.
 33. A server system as described inclaim 32 wherein said low level rendering commands comprise physicalscreen positions of display elements.
 34. A server system as describedin claim 32 wherein a low level rendering command comprises:specifications of a location and a size of a screen area; and anidentification of a particular rendering block of said plurality ofrendering blocks of said graphical user interface.
 35. A server systemas described in claim 34 wherein said low level rendering commandfurther comprises parameters associated with said particular renderingblock.
 36. A server system as described in claim 28 wherein saidtransceiver is operable to transmit said second screen description tosaid wireless device.
 37. A server system as described in claim 28wherein said second screen description comprises display and audiorendering commands.
 38. A server system as described in claim 28 whereinsaid application program is wireless device generic and wherein furthersaid content generated by said application comprises a screendescription template that is wireless device generic.
 39. A serversystem as described in claim 28 wherein said processor in response to arequest for executing said application program, is operable to cause tobe transmitted a custom configuration to said wireless device whereinsaid custom configuration is specific for said application program andis operable to configure a plurality of rendering blocks of a graphicaluser interface of said wireless device.
 40. A server system as describedin claim 39 wherein said memory comprises a plurality of customconfigurations and wherein processor is further operable to receive anidentification of a type of said wireless device and receive anidentification of said application program from said wireless device andfurther operable to identify said custom configuration of said pluralityof custom configurations based on said type of said wireless device andbased on said identification of said application program.
 41. A serversystem as described in claim 28 wherein said memory comprises aplurality of device profiles and wherein said transceiver is operable toreceive an identification of a type of said wireless device wherein saidprocessor is operable to identify said device profile of said pluralityof device profiles based on said type of said wireless device.